Dear John Taylor Foundation,
Thank you so much for supporting with your generous contribution to supporting my sporting career.
I will use the £250 towards purchasing a wetsuit for the start of my triathlon season.
Jude Clayton – Triathlon
Reports
Harvey Wilkinson – Track and Field
Good morning,
Yesterday I competed in Shot Put in the Under 17 category at the English Athletics Indoor championship. I had met the qualifying distance at the end of 2023.
This event was at Sheffield and it is the first time I have competed in a national final. It was an early start, we left home at 6.00 am to ensure we could be at the stadium in time for registration and to collect my number. I was extremely nervous but also excited, not helped by having watching the live stream of the event the day before which made me realise how busy it would be.
I had two warm up throws and then six throws in the actual competition. There was no podium finish this time but I have learnt so much for future competitions and thoroughly enjoyed my day. The atmosphere and venue were amazing, with music, commentators, loads of spectators.
The indoor 2024 season is now just about finished but I am already making plans for the outdoor season and fingers crossed I will qualify for more big events.
I have attached a picture of me outside the stadium with my coach Chris Lees and by separate email will send a video. It was tricky to get any pictures as spectators had to stay in the stands which were quite a distance from where I was throwing.
Thank you so much for your support.
Harvey.
Helena Coy – Triathlon
Hi Helen,
I received the cheque and bought some cycling shorts so I could use them during my camp during the February half term. I came back from my camp in Fuertaventura on Sunday.
Over the week we completed around 25 hours of training, 8 hours of swimming, 10 and half hours of cycling, 3 hours of running and 2 hours of S&C. The money which I used for the shorts definitely helped me to carry on with the volume of cycling as it was significantly comfier than some of my older pairs. (256km over the 10 hours).
The weather was really great throughout the week, (even if it was slightly windy on some of the rides) which really helped for me to get a consistent block of training in before the race season starts beginning of April. Again, thank you so much for the funding and support towards me, it was hugely helpful, and beneficial.
I’ve attached a few photos and videos of the kit during the cycles and a few extra from the camp too.
Helena Coy
Alex Whittaker – Mountain Running
I first heard of the John Taylor foundation grant through friends at training sessions and decided to apply. My main discipline is fell or mountain running and the cost of this specific equipment alongside road running and training shoes, especially whilst at uni, makes it an investment I can’t always afford.
I was successful in my application and with the grant, was able to purchase a replacement pair of trail hiking shoes and 500ml racing flasks for my recent sky running world championship race in Italy.
The cost of training shoes and extra equipment easily adds up and the financial help provided was greatly appreciated. I am very lucky to also be supported by Scarpa who, alongside the John Taylor foundation helped make my race this summer a success. I placed 8th in both the Vertical Kilometre and the 23km Sky Race disciplines and am really looking forward to future years of racing at these new formats, and hopefully start competing at the senior levels in mountain running.
The money I saved through the awarded grant was used to fund my flights to the championships and has hugely helped my financial footing when returning to uni this September.
I am extremely grateful to the John Taylor foundation for their support this year, and for the brilliant work they do supporting athletes in all their racing ambitions!
Thank you!
Chris Richards – Mountain Running
Support from the John Taylor Foundation has been hugely helpful in contributing towards the cost of travel to and from races and training sessions. This has been of massive benefit towards my preparation for the GB trials in early May in my effort to make the team for the world mountain and trail running championships in Innsbruck in early June.
During this training build up I’ve tested my fitness in two events; the Chapelgill Hill Race near Broughton in the Scottish Borders which claims to be the steepest hill race in the UK with gradients reaching a steepness of around 45%, and also the Northern 12 stage road relays which took place in Redcar which was a pan flat road race. Both exceeded expectations and I won at Chapelgill and was only 19 seconds off of the record, and at Redcar I clocked the second fastest time on my leg running at 3:05 min/km pace for 9.5km in blustery conditions despite doing only hill and mountain work in the fells which I took to be a very positive sign.
The support from the John Taylor Foundation has helped ease some of the financial pressures of travel to and from races and I’ve been especially grateful for it as this year as athletes who qualify for the GB team for the world champs will have to contribute towards the cost of travel due to budget restrictions. The mountain and fell running season is almost all year long and so the support from the John Taylor Foundation has played a crucial role in helping to funding this year’s season.
Laura Brown – Orienteer
Junior European Cup 2022
The Junior European Cup was an incredible opportunity and I am so glad that it was my international debut. JEC 2022 was held in Blankenburg, Germany right on the edge of the Harz mountains. The competition consisted of a sprint race, a long/classic race and a relay race. The nerves when we arrived were through the roof, as entering the hotel after a slightly stressful journey we saw all the different teams (from 12 different countries) wearing all their national kit and I think that’s when it really sunk in for me that I was really about to compete for GB!
After doing a practise sprint in the town we were staying at, we had a lot of time to chill so many of us went to explore the stunning town to get a good view of the castle that overlooked town on the hillside.
It was an early start on the Saturday and a short drive to a neighbouring town to go into quarantine for the sprint race. Surprisingly I felt pretty calm, the only thing I was nervous about was the 135m of climb!!! The area was very challenging both physically (due to the amount of climb as we went all the way up to the castle on top of the hill) and technically challenging.
On the Sunday it was an even earlier start to the day to get to the long event. The long was combined with the German Championships, so it was very busy and you could feel the buzz. The finished was inside a castle on the top of a huge hill- with 80m climb to the last control!!! The area we were racing in was amazing with 3 different kinds of terrain to run through so it was challenging. It was very very hilly towards the end of the course and with lots of little rock features so was tricky but very fun.
Finally, the relay on the Monday. I have got say I was most nervous for the relay as this time it’s not just about you, you are running for a team and I was determined not to let them down. The relay area was amazing, a hilly but technical area that was really runnable so it was a fast race. I was on the 1st leg sharing a mass start with around 80 M/W 18s and M/W 20s. The race went really well and it was amazing to run alongside so many other amazing athletes. As the girls GB team (with Alice Kemsley and Emma Crawford) we managed to get 22nd out of 43 other girls teams so we were really really pleased.
Overall, despite being pretty disappointed with my individual results, I was really pleased with my mindset and the way I handled the pressure of the races. Now that I have had a taste for international competition, I am even more determined to improve in the hope to be selected again in the future.
I would like to thank you for sponsoring me, your support makes it possible for me to be able to take these opportunities and grow as an athlete. These kinds of experiences encourage and motivate me to further improve my orienteering, as it is a good platform to prepare me to start my final year of W18.
Thank you, Laura Brown, LOC W18
Eve Whitaker – Triathlete
Just an update on my John Taylor Foundation funding – I bought the Asics running shoes and a pair of triathlon specific cycle shoes.
I wore both in the recent British Triathlon performance assessments and placed 1st – super chuffed so wanted to say massive thankyou to everyone on the trust as all the equipment made a huge difference!
I have attached some photos as well :))
Again massive thankyou for everything!
Eve Whitaker
Struan Bennet – Triathlete
Just sending through a small update after your help with getting me a wetsuit and triathlon cycle shoes.
I have used the wetsuit and cycle shoes you helped me buy to become Scottish Junior (U20) Sprint Triathlon Champion in my second triathlon after a covid drought, I also used them in my first triathlon of the year, which was the European Junior Selection Race In Llanelli Wales, where I ws going well until I got knocked off my bike on the third of the five bike laps, I managed to pull myself back into 24th on the run. I have also used the tri shoes in a Club Time Trial where I set a new club record up the hill climb which was a minute faster than my PB from a year and a half previous.
I have more info on my website www.struanbennettri.wordpress.com
I used the wetsuit to help me win the British triathlon super series with the maximum available points after being first Youth B at the last two races at Mallory, my final race of the season was Superleague Jersey where I came 3rd Junior, but I could have been higher had my chip not been knocked off in the first swim.
Thanks for your support
Struan
Iris MacMillan – Orienteer
Dear John Taylor Foundation,
Thank you so much for supporting me to represent Great Britain
at both the European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) and the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC).
The European Youth Orienteering Champs was held in Salgótarjáni, Hungary from the 1st-4th of July. I was selected as one of 4 under 18 girls and had an amazing time competing in the foreign terrain.
On the 1st of July we went to both the forest and sprint model event which were in similar areas to the races and gave us the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the Hungarian terrain and mapping. The forest was pretty different from anything I had competed in before but the majority of it was runnable with not too much vegetation in the white areas.
The next day was the long race where came 49th out of 94. I struggled a lot in the heat which was over 30 degrees but it felt like a solid first international race.
The sprint race was held on the Sunday, I find sprint races more challenging because I come from such a rural area and don’t have access to many places to train for them so definitely have a lack of confidence when it comes to this discipline. This, combined with the heat and pressure of an international competition really affected my performance as I made mistakes on the second and third controls. Afterwards, I was determined to redeem myself at the relay the following day.
I ran the first leg of the relay and so was part of the mass start. I enjoyed the pressure of running first leg, it was the best experience setting off with my competitors from all over Europe. Everyone started off together as a pack for the first couple of controls, however as the gaffles started the pack began to spread out as everyone headed off to their slightly different controls. The race went well and I was consistently in the top 6 until the second last control where I lost concentration and made a mistake, dropping me to 10th place.
I ended up with a good time but I was disappointed, especially when I checked the live results and found out that I was in 3rd place halfway round the course. It gave me a confidence boost and I learnt a lot from this race, especially how to put my head down and not get distracted by others. It also made me motivated and hungry for more.
After EYOC me and 3 other teammates traveled straight to Portugal for JWOC.
The Junior World Orienteering Championships was held in Aguiar de Beira, Portugal from the 9th-16th of July. For this competition, I was one of 6 under 20 girls running for Great Britain. This was pretty daunting for me because I am 17 and was competing against girls three years older than me, however, after being selected as one of the youngest we were on the team to gain international experience racing for our future junior careers.
We were joined by the rest of the GB team on the Thursday, however, on Friday evening we heard that due to the extreme temperatures causing forest fires, there had been a ban on forest access in the whole of Portugal meaning that the forest races would not be able to take place. We were then told that the sprint race would go ahead and they would also put on the first official JWOC mixed sprint relay and an extra unofficial sprint relay non-medal race.
I struggled during the individual sprint race as I had a late start in extreme temperatures of over 40 degrees. I had never orienteered in these temperatures before and it really affected me.
However, there was still the mixed sprint relay on the Wednesday. I had one of the best runs of my life and came in in 4th place. Even though I was in the B relay we still had the same courses as the A one and so were able to compare times, I had the fastest time of all the GB girls and worked out that if I had been running the A relay I would have been 17th.
This was the highlight of my competition and a massive confidence boost. It definitely changed the way I feel about sprint orienteering, having proved to myself that it was something I could be successful in.
Towards the end of the week we also heard that the forest races were being postponed until the autumn and so I will be returning to Portugal in November for the middle, long and relay races. I’m delighted that I will have the opportunity to run in these amazing forests.
Overall, this was such an incredible experience, I’ve learnt so much about the pressure of competing at a world class level and the highs and lows of international competition. I have also gained valuable experience for future years. Again, thank you so much for your funding, it’s allowed me to gain so much from my international debut.
Fiona Bunn – Orienteer
I recently returned from competing at the FISU World University Orienteering championships in Switzerland and would like to thank the John Taylor Foundation for their contributions towards my costs for this event. My experiences at this competition was especially valuable and I have come away from this season with more confidence and motivation for future years.
The World University championships were my main aim this year, and I was competing in 4 disciplines: Sprint, Long, Sprint relay and forest relay. I was particularly grateful for the contribution from JTF as it enabled me to travel out to Switzerland early and have three days of training in relevant terrain, instead of just one day as the official competition programme allowed. I felt this helped me to build confidence and understand the techniques to use and factors influencing route choice decisions, which can often be difficult when racing in unfamiliar terrain.
My performances through the week got progressively better. I was in the mix for a top 6 position in the sprint race until an error at the map flip resulted in a big time loss and dropping out of contention. I finished 12th in the Long distance, 5th on first leg of the mixed sprint relay (team finished 5th overall), and 1st= on first leg of the forest relay (team finished 7th nation). I am now looking forward to the final round of the World Cup, also in Switzerland, before heading into a winter cross-country season. None of my races were perfect, but I felt that I dealt with the pre-race nerves and pressures of the relays well and now have confidence that I can be a reliable orienteer and that my form is good. I have also come away from the week having moved up 40 places in the World Ranking and with many memories and new friends.
I’d like to thank the JTF, Edinburgh University and the coaches/support team who travelled with us to the competition.
WUCORIENTEERING2022/Rolf Gemperle
WUCORIENTEERING2022/Rolf Gemperle